Friday, 28 November 2008

A shopping expedition

Shopping trips may seem mundane, but they are a type of journey that makes up a large percentage of the total that most people make. Everyone needs to eat.

Enabling shopping trips to be easy by bicycle is as important as enabling trips to school or work.

This is a journey made on a perfectly normal bicycle by a person wearing normal clothes. It's about 2 km in each direction to get to the shop shown, though I have a choice of two other shops which are closer than that.

The video is cut to make it more varied and take out repetitive parts, and I take a different route home in order to show some variety. However it still accurately portrays what a journey of this length is like. You see very few cars as they take other routes. Talking of which, if I was to drive I'd have to stop at two sets of traffic lights to get to that supermarket, and while the parking is free at the supermarket it is further away from the front door of the shop than I can park my bike. It's almost always quicker by bike than by car.

10 comments:

I really enjoyed watching this video David :) Do you have a camera on your head or just a very steady hand whilst cycling one handed?I also shop on my bike - although I tend to go early before the roads get too busy because we don't have seperate cycle paths.

David we could do with your Old outdated Cycle Paths,they are better than our New Cycle Paths. I like the way you can cycle inside the Shopping Mall,it keeps the Bike from getting Wet. In theory they could do the same here in Ireland as the Malls are around the same size that they could allow you to bring the Bike indoors and leave outside the Supermarket Door. I notice you were able to leave a Cycle Computer on the Bike without it getting Nicked. I have done this myelf a few times by accidentally leaving one on my Bike, one was robbed a few Years ago in a different District to my own however. I have not had any stolen outside my Local Supermarket but you are taking a big chance.A lot of Supermarkets now have Bike Racks but it is only a token amount,we could do with a lot more.Where I live there is Tesco and a few Years ago there was no Racks at all but now we have them for about two Years and they have put in a few more. So Bike use is steadily increasing everywhere all over the Country and in Dublin it is getting harder to find a spare Biking Rack free.Now we could do with decent Cycle Paths. I like the Life in the Netherlands that you have shown us, Brilliant Video.

A few times in the Centre of Dublin in O 'connell Street in the Central Promenade where People Park their Bikes ,I have noticed People have left their Panniers and sometimes Cycle Computers. They must be Tourists,not many Local People would chance doing that. I could be wrong maybe the times they are a changing. I always take the Panniers with me and anything else that could walk unless I am in Eye Contact say at a Cafe sitting outside beside the Bike.

At shops it is generally safer to leave things on, like a bike computer or removable lights and the like. But when you park your bike at a trainstation anything that is easily removable needs to taken off. I think it has to with how long the bike is 'alone'. At a trainstation it is expected to be there for an entire day, while at a shop it can be there for only ten minutes. I don't have anything to remove, because everything is basically bolted to the bike... :)

Except for the infrastructure and the parking, my shopping strip this morning was remarkably similar to yours :-)

I rode about 1.5 miles over residential streets. Stopped at 3 intersections crossing secondary arteries. Parked my bicycle at a rack with high wheel-bending potential. I locked to the side of it so I could support the frame. I cinched it up tight so that I could load without tipping -- full front basket and 10-pound bag of charcoal on the rear rack.

I saw no other cyclists this morning at the store or on the route. But it is a dreary, chilly day with a bit of sleet. Yesterday the weather was nicer. There were four cyclists at the store, and I saw four more along the route.

I need to make some movies of our situation in Springfield. I may try a helmet mount first :-)

Thanks for this- The buildings are reminiscent of the UK, but the cycling facilities look more like (some parts of) Germany, which is very confusing.

It's taking time, but I'm getting more used to leaving things on my bike. I used to take lights, computer and anything I was carrying off when I left the bike, but these days I usually forget until I see the front light shining through the shop window.

Yesterday I forgot my briefcase and realised when I saw it in the Xtracycle on my return...

Excellent! My trip is about 3k each way. It is pretty much a straight shot, but is is on a main road with no cycling facilities :-( And I wouldn't dare ride it one handed. But we ride it anyway! One of these days we may see some widespread cycle paths in the US...maybe.

Study Tours

You've read the blog, now see everything with your own eyes. Since 2006, hundreds of people have joined us on our Cycling Study Tours.
First hand experience is better than reading. Book a tour to see how policy and infrastructure have attracted people from all walks of life to cycle:

Support this blog

Thousands of hours of work have gone into compiling the information on this blog but we do not receive grants and we do not ask for charity to support us.

You can help to make further blog posts possible by buying proven bicycle components from us:

Copyright and Licensing

This blog is free of charge to read and for most individual usage including reasonable "quoting" of its contents. However, neither the text nor the photos on this blog are in the public domain. To find out more, please read our copyright and licensing information.

Search This Blog

Non-sponsored links

Experience for yourself how policy and infrastructure in Assen and Groningen have led to the high cycling modal share in this area:

If you like this blog please support us so we can continue. We sell quality bicycle components:

Cycling holidays in Assen and Drenthe, where this blog is based:
All the youtube videos from this blog: